Reception for Gallery Exhibit Opening

Łódź: The Promised Land

Join CES for the opening of its new gallery exhibit, followed by the annual Spring Party.

About

The description of the city of Łódź, Poland, as “The Promised Land” is borrowed from the title of a novel by Władysław Reymxont, a Polish novelist and the recipient of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature. His novel condemned the ruthlessness of capitalism, yet depicted Łódź as a modern city of four religions, cultures, and nations —Poles, Germans, Jews, and the Russian officials of the Tsarist administration.

The show exhibits three snapshots of the history of Łódź. The first is of the 19th century Industrial Revolution, a golden period of the city, represented by photographically enlarged illustrations of industrial architecture included on stationery. The second snapshot is of the late 1970s period that signaled the beginning of the end of communism in Poland and the emergence of grassroots capitalism. The images are based on the ŁÓDŹ-ORWO Collection documenting vernacular language of visual communication. The third snapshot is a portrait of contemporary Łódź through the lens of photographer Sławomir Krajewski detailing old industrial infrastructure converted into shopping centers and commercial malls.